by Gabe Saglie, Senior Editor, Travelzoopublished in the Santa Barbara News-Press on 3/29/15

Actor/Vintner Kurt Russell

Actor Kurt Russell thinks making wine is a lot like making
movies.

“You put all your heart and soul into it,” he says.“It ‘aint easy, but it’s fun and exciting to
see other people enjoy something you’ve put so much time and effort into.”

On the acting, of course, Mr. Russell, 64, is a pro.He was a child TV star, and he was a golden
boy for Disney for many years, before he went on to star in films like
Overboard, Escape From New York, Big Trouble in Little China, Tombstone and,
more recently, The Art of the Steal.Then
there’s his 30-plus-year relationship with fellow actor Goldie Hawn, which has
Hollywood royalty written all over it.

But when Mr. Russell headlines the 2nd Annual
Santa Barbara Food & Wine Weekend at Bacara Resort next month, the public
will see the curtains pull back on his newest endeavor: making wine.The four-day culinary fete, which runs
April16-19, will feature seminars, demos and tastings.It culminates with a Saturday night wine
dinner featuring Mr. Russell’s GoGi label and the Hudson-Bellamy label by his
step-daughter, actress Kate Hudson.

﻿

Kurt Russell in the vineyard (credit: Joe Mozdzen)

The seeds for Mr. Russell’s passion project were actually
planted in the late 1980s, “when Goldie and the family and I started taking
bike trips through France and Italy,” remembers Mr. Russell, who spoke with me from the Colorado set of Oscar-winning director Quentin Tarantino’s
latest film, The Hateful Eight.

“Biking through all those vineyards, I discovered I loved
drinking wine well before getting the inclination to make wine,” he adds.“But it was visiting Burgundy – that’s when I
realized how much I love those wines.” In fact, Burgundian reds – lighter, more delicate and
balanced pinot noir wines – would become the gold standard for Mr.
Russell.And it would be serendipity – biking
through the vineyards of Santa Barbara County, this time – that would allow
those seeds planted long before to bloom.

Back in 2007, “I was driving through the Sta. Rita Hills and
discovered that a lot of pinot was being grown there.I kept coming back to this same spot on
Highway 246, and I’d just park there.And when I tasted their wines, I started to pick up on this regional
taste, a lot like what I’d tasted in Burgundy.As luck would have it, my friend (and celebrity photographer) Greg
Gorman, when he saw I was really get into this, said to me over dinner one
night, ‘You should meet Peter and Rebecca Work at Ampelos.’

“And you know what?Theirs was the vineyard I’d been parked next to all those times!Weird.”

The Works, actually, had just recently established Ampelos,
an 82-acre sprawling estate in the heart of the Sta. Rita Hills wine growing
region, near Lompoc.Vines of pinot
noir, chardonnay, syrah and viognier grapes flourish here.It has since become the first vineyard in the
U.S. to be certified organic, biodynamic and sustainable.

﻿

Ampelos Vineyard (credit: Joe Mozdzen)

“That’s what I liked – their old school way of making
pinot,” Mr. Russell recalls.“Serious
farming, and that mindset that takes you back to a time when making wine was
hands on, with as little machinery as possible.It stops you from cutting corners.”

﻿

Russell thieves (credit: Joe Mozdzen)

The Works don’t dabble in private labels, and they’ve never
taken on partnerships.So when they
agreed to work with Mr. Russell to develop a wine label, “it was so amazing to
me that they took me on,” the actor says.To this day, Mr. Russell described himself as the Works’ “apprentice."

“I guess Kurt was speaking with [a fellow actor] recently,
talking about how things are going, and he actually called me his winemaking
mentor,” says Peter Work, humbly.“Truth
is, we are happy working with Kurt because he’s a really cool guy and we’re
helping him on a real journey.It’s his
engagement, and seeing how dedicated he is.”

Russell measures

GoGi Wines was founded in 2008, a nod to Mr. Russell’s
childhood nickname (pronounced GO-Ghee).“I wasn’t interested
in just slapping my name on a label,” he says, recognizing that celebrity can quickly
turn a wine label into a marquee.“I’m
interested in [consumers] who want to know they are drinking a wine that’s
painstakingly created in an old school fashion.That’s where there’s integrity in this wine.”

Mr. Work, who makes the wines for his own Ampelos label, is
the winemaker for GoGi, too.But that
has not precluded Mr. Russell from intimate involvement, both out in the
vineyard and inside the winery.His
pinot noir is made entirely from Ampelos estate fruit and, every year, “he
prunes and works harvest, he does punch downs, he works the bottling line, he
even waxes the tops of the bottles,” says Jami Way, Mr. Russell’s younger
sister, and the business mastermind behind GoGi.“He’s obsessed.”

﻿

Russell blends

The part of the process that appeals to Mr. Russell most is
blending: tasting through wines made from different pinot noir clones grown at
Ampelos – they have names like Clone 777, Clone 115 and Pommard 4 – and
determining the winning formula that’ll go into the bottle each vintage.

“We’ll spend at least two days with Kurt, and we’ll go
barrel to barrel, before he does the blendings,” says Mr. Work.“He’s very good at differentiating the wines
from different clones, and he’s a very picky guy who knows exactly what he
wants and doesn’t want.”

“I’ve been able to formulate my own taste,” adds Mr.
Russell, “and it’s blending that is the most challenging and yet the most
rewarding.I want to make a wine that
has world-class aspects about it, but I also want it to be my own signature –
my wine.”

Kurt & Jami (credit: Joe Mozdzen)

For Mr. Russell, it’s important that his GoGi project be all
about family, too.“Seeing how much fun
her dad was having,” says Mr. Work, actress Kate Hudson launched her own wine
label, Hudson Bellamy, with former fiancé and musician Matt Bellamy.The wines are made by Mr. Work, too.

Aside from managing the business, Ms. Way also runs the Wine
Saloon inside The 1880 Union Hotel in Los Alamos.The rustic wine bar, open Friday through
Sunday, pours the wines of GoGi, Hudson Bellamy and Ampelos, exclusively.The tasting flight poured at the bar is
called “La Familia.”

“They always say you shouldn’t mix business with family,”
Ms. Way says, with a laugh, “but we’re not your typical family.”

With a yearly production of just a few hundred cases, the
GoGi wines, themselves, pay homage to Mr. Russell’s family, too.The name on the pinot label, for example,
changes with each vintage.The 2011 Pinot
Noir ($75), currently in the marketplace, is dubbed Angelbaby, after Ms. Way’s
childhood nickname.Previous vintages,
with designations like Bosty Boy for son Boston, Jillybean for sister Jill and
Forbaz for sister Jody (whose nickname is Baz), have already sold out.

The 2011 Gogi Angelbaby Pinot, and its namesake

The appellation on the GoGi chardonnay remains the same with
each release – Goldie – and is a tip of the hat to Mr. Russell’s longtime
partner.The 2012 Chardonnay ($50)
blends fruit from three vineyards – Huber, Turner and Zotovich – all in the
Sta. Rita Hills.

Mr. Russell also produces a Viognier, named Lulu, in honor
of his mother, Louise.“Viognier is her
absolute favorite wine,” says Ms. Way.The wine is made solely for its namesake and is not available
commercially, although it will make a rare appearance during the April 18th
wine dinner, starring Mr. Russell, at Bacara Resort.

Cheers!

“This is going to be fun, because it’s serious food and
serious wine,” says Mr. Russell of his taking center stage at the upcoming
culinary showcase.“It’s high-end, which
is where I want to be and where I want my wine to be used, perceived and
drunk.”

The
Saturday evening dinner ($199) will feature wines by GoGi, Hudson Bellamy and
Ampelos.The 2nd Annual Santa
Barbara Food & Wine Weekend features a cavalcade of other gourmet events,
including a Saturday lunch with celebrity chef Suzanne Goin ($59) and a variety of seminars, workshops and intimate foodie conversations. VIP all-access passes cost $599.For tickets
to the Food & Wine Weekend at Bacara, go to bacararesort.com.For
more on GoGi, check out gogiwines.com.

“To keep the wine at a high level, I have to keep it small,”
she tells me of her annual production, which hovers around just 200 cases.The Lompoc-based entrepreneur loves “aging
wines forever, “ so while she launched her Turiya label in 2008, the wines
weren’t released to the public until 2013.

She’s been after a clientele ever since, of course, mainly
via social media and an allocation list.But Soleno doesn’t run a tasting room, and wide distribution would be a
luxury.So the Garagiste Festival, and
the wine consumers it attracts, has quickly become an important part of her
business.

“These are my kind of people – people seeking out really
small producers,” she says, having participated in Garagiste Festival events in
Paso Robles, Los Angeles and Solvang.“It’s generated thousands of dollars in sales for me.”

For Cris Carter, an L.A.-based commercial brewer by day who
launched his Weatherborne label in 2012, it’s also all about connecting with
focused consumers.His pinot noir, which
he blends from multiple vineyard sources in the Sta. Rita Hills, was one of the
best wines I tasted at last year’s event in Solvang.With a production of less than 400 cases a
year, the connections he’s made at Garagiste have been key to brand
recognition.

After last year, “we saw several people reach out to us,
including a few stores in Santa Ynez, and we saw a nice little bump in our
Google analytics,” he told me.“The
crowd is great because they’re looking for smaller guys who are new and who are
about to become something, rather than wines that have already gotten the
scores and attention.And they like
interacting directly with winemakers.”

The success of the Garagiste Festival, which has become a
major destination event, hinges on access.For the curious consumer, this is one-stop shopping for winemakers and
wines that rarely make public appearances.These are productions so small, you’re unlikely to find these wines at
any other event, or on a store shelf, or on a restaurant wine list.But their smallness – in production and in
approach – doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty of knack here, or even
expertise.With a penchant for pushing
the envelope and creating something that stand out, this really is the leading
edge of what’s new and exciting in the world of wine.

And the French word “garagiste” references exactly that;
we’ve all heard plenty of stories about innovative people creating something
special in their garage, right?

For Doug Minnick, the appeal of the festival he co-founded
three years ago has a lot to do with location, too.From Paso Robles to Santa Ynez, “you can do
any grape, any variety, in any style,” he says.“You can’t say that about any other wine region in the world.It really can be a claim to fame for the
Central Coast.”

It’s certainly enough to lure all types of pioneering
winemakers.

When the Garagiste Festival rolls into Solvang this weekend,
it’ll feature two Grand Tasting events.Thirty producers will pour on Saturday (including Soleno and Carter) and
a totally new batch of 30 will pour their wines on Sunday.The quaint Veterans Memorial Hall in downtown
Solvang provides easy access to hundreds of wines.

Tasters are all smiles at Garagiste

Guests will also have access to several seminars.Friday includes a Winemaker Symposium, ideal
for budding vintners who want insights into fermentation, and a Winemaker Mixer
with rare and limited-edition wines.Saturday’s one-hour morning seminar will explore the diversity of Sta.
Rita Hills with panelists Peter Work (Ampelos Cellars), Chad Melville (SamSARA)
and Dan Kessler (Kessler-Hawk Vineyards).Sunday’s session tackles the great alcohol-in-wine debate with Norm Yost
(Flying Goat Cellars), Keith Saarloos (Saarloos & Sons) and Stillman Brown
(Zeppelin Winery in Paso Robles).

Committed consumers will want the All-Access VIP Pass
($195), which gets you into both grand tastings an hour earlier and includes
all seminars and lunch all day (Georgia’s Smokehouse is preparing lunch on
Sunday).All events can also be
purchased separately, with Grand Tasting tickets prices at $55.Go to www.californiagaragistes.com/buy-tickets.

Turiya Wines will also be opening its winery doors for
complimentary tastings – a rare treat – on Sunday from 11am to 5pm, 316 N. F
Street, Lompoc.

by Gabe Saglie, Senior Editor, Travelzoopublished in the Santa Barbara News-Press on 3/13/15

Sheer numbers help explain Ireland’s travel appeal: more
than 40 million Americans claim some degree of Irish heritage.Genealogy travel, in fact, helped lure 1.2
million of them to the Emerald Isle just last year.And, on the heels of a steadily improving
economy, Ireland expects to set a new visitor record in 2015 – more than 7.7
million guests from around the world.

Spotted on the road from Dublin to Western Ireland

Travelers to Ireland will find that the rumors are true: the
people here are remarkably friendly, the culture is fascinating, the scenery is
spectacular and craic – that’s the
word Irish use to describe a good time – is pervasive.

This is also a country where tradition reigns supreme, from
Irish music, which is vibrant and personal, to Ireland’s pubs, where locals
gather for conversation as much as a pint.Tradition may be at its most glorious during St. Patrick’s Festival – a
week-long fete here, not just a day – where wearing green is mandatory.In Dublin, the feast culminates on March 17th
with a mardi gras-style parade through city streets that easily draws a green
waft of 700,000 revelers.

Travel to Ireland has become increasingly easier, with
direct flights from all major U.S. cities.Out of L.A., outbound travel will likely include an east coast stopover
before an overnight flight across the Atlantic. AerLingus flies nonstop to out of SFO. And direct flights are easy to nab from New York, Chicago, Boston, Atlanta, DC, Orlando, Philadelphia and Charlotte. Three international airports to choose from allow for strategic
arrivals: Dublin to the east, Shannon to the west and newly expanded Belfast to
the north.

Driving is the best way to see Ireland
(once you figure out how to drive on the left)

Getting around by bus or train is easy, but the best way to
appreciate the breathtaking beauty of Ireland is from behind the wheel.Roads are well maintained (have change handy
for the occasional toll) and signs abound.It’s the willingness to drive off the grid, though, and to make
unexpected turns that often reveals the landscape’s best gems, from castle
ruins to rolling farms to sweeping shores.Anywhere you want to go is usually no more than two hours away; from
Dublin, a two-hour drive will put you as far north as Belfast.The left side of the road is for driving, the
right lane is for passing.Seatbelts are
the law.And distances are shown in
kilometers (except for Northern Ireland, which measures in miles).

﻿﻿﻿﻿

The 5-Star Adare Manor

Ireland is home to hotels that fit all budgets.But this is the land of B&Bs.More than 1000 certified bed-and-breakfasts
throughout Ireland offer guests a uniquely affordable option and innkeepers
provide insider perspectives on local things to see and do.There are also hundreds of castles and historic
houses here, many of which have been transformed into 5-star hotels where
sprawling grounds match a white-glove approach to hospitality.The 19th century Adare Manor in
County Limerick, cradled by a championship golf course and family-friendly villas,
and the Ashford Castle in County Mayo, with a history that stretches back 700
years, are traveler favorites.

Here’s a quick geographic look at some of Ireland’s traveler
treasures.

Dublin

The rich history of the Republic of Ireland’s capital city,
located on the eastern coast, is buoyed by contemporary flare.

The River Liffey flows through downtown Dublin, and its
bridges offer perfect vantage points.Shoppers delight in hot spots like Temple Bar, on the river’s south
banks, and lively O’Connell Street.Nearby, the Grafton Street promenade is a retail haven and a hub for
spontaneous music-making; U2’s Irish-born Bono has held impromptu acoustic sets
here.

The River Liffey flows through Dublin

Imbibing is a favorite pastime here, and a tourist
draw.The Guinness Storehouse, where the
legendary dark and frothy beer has been brewed since the 1750s, is a
seven-story interactive attraction where visitors learn to pour the perfect
pint, savor Guinness-infused cuisine and enjoy sweeping views from the
top-floor Gravity Bar.At the Old Jameson
Distillery, side-by-side comparative tastings against Scotch and Bourbon reveal why Ireland’s triple-distilled
approach generates such a beautifully smooth spirit.

The Poolbeg Lighthouse in Dublin Bay, spotted on the ferry ride to Howth

The evening pub crawl is a multisensory history lesson.Actors lead travelers through famous pubs
where native sons like Oscar Wilde and James Joyce once sipped for
inspiration.Song, storytelling and
reenactments, along with stops at intellectual hangouts like Trinity College,
create a literary lesson unlike any other.Works by William Butler Yeats will likely feature prominently in 2015,
as Ireland celebrates what would have been the Nobel Prize-winning poet’s 150th
birthday. Be ready to share a pint at every stop.

Landmarks like St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Dublin Castle are
not to be missed.And for an easy day
trip, visit the quaint fishing village of Howth; set on a sweeping bay and
easily accessible by bus or rail, sea-to-table dining here is superb.

The North

Though mostly seamless, a visit to Northern Ireland is a
trip across the border into the United Kingdom.Pay with British sterling here, not Euros, and notice myriad cultural
differences.But classic Irish
hospitality is very much alive and well here, too, as well as quintessential
countryside imagery.

The new Titanic Belfast intercative museum is spectacular

Belfast, the capital, is in throes of a renaissance, with
visitor numbers climbing quickly.This
ship-building epicenter pays homage to its most famous vessel with Titanic
Belfast, a brand new interactive museum that brings visitors on board and takes
them through dining halls, first class quarters and, in dramatic fashion, even
the Titanic’s final underwater resting place.

Fans of the hit HBO show Game of Thrones are now flocking
here, too.Many of the show’s interiors,
like the Throne Room and the Sept of Baelor, are filmed at Belfast’s Titanic
Studios.But it’s the dramatic natural
setting along the dreamy Causeway Coastal Route that brings the show’s magical
worlds to life, including the Cushendun Caves, Cairncastle and Ballintroy
Harbour.The Dark Hedges, in County
Antrim, is a striking, brooding avenue of arched beech trees that becomes the
treacherous King’s Road in Westeros.

Continue the drive to the Giants Causeway, a UNESCO World
Heritage Site; the tens of thousands of interlocking rock columns that jut from
the ocean’s edge stem from ancient volcanic eruptions and create an
awe-inspiring panorama.

﻿

St. Patrick founded one of his first churches at this site in Armagh

Northern Ireland’s County Down is home to some of Europe’s
greatest golf courses, including Hollywood Golf Club, which served as the early
training ground for world superstar Rory McElroy, and Ardglass, with holes set
on the edges of towering cliffs.

The tiny town of Armagh is where St. Patrick established one
of his very first churches and where the Public Library keeps the original copy
of Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, complete with notes handwritten by the
author.

The West

The Wild Atlantic Way, along the stunning western shores of
Ireland, is the longest designated driving route in the world.Getting lost while driving should be a goal,
for the untouched geological wonders it has to offer.Breathtaking visuals abound here, from the
Inishowen Peninsula in Donegal to Kinsale in County Cork.The crowning jewels here are the Cliffs of
Moher, chiseled crags that tower 400 feet above the sea.Hike along the edge with care, but do venture
forth for some of the most spectacular coastal visuals on Earth.

The views from atop the Cliffs of Moher are breathtaking

The villages that dot the west are boutique snapshots of
this land’s historic past.Adare Village
wows with its curvy streets and pastel-façade homes; Market Place Adare for
breakfast and 1826 Adare Restaurant for dinner are a must.In Limerick, along the River Shannon, the 13th
century King John’s Castle welcomes visitors into its historic halls, as well as a
brand new 3-D interactive experience.

King John's Castle in Limerick dates back to the 13th century

In Galway, where labyrinth cobblestone streets ooze medieval
character, it’s the festivals that beckon year-round, from the Early Music
Festival in May to the International Oyster and Seafood Festival in September.

The South

Festivals and fairs are part of the cultural experience in
southern Ireland, too.In the historic
fishing town of Kinsale, the annual Gourmet Festival draws thousands of foodies
every October.

In Waterford, the world-famous namesake crystal factory
offers tours.The former Viking town of
Wexford is home to a popular horse racetrack.And in the southwestern city of Killarney, visitors can visit a 15th
century Friscan friary and catch a match of Gaelic football.

Cork City is the third biggest city in Ireland, a bustling
epicenter full of cathedrals, landmarks and breweries.There’s a museum dedicated to Cork’s history
in butter production and export.The
English Market is one-stop shopping of totally local fare, from produce to
cheeses to meats.

And for
the adventurous, Wicklow Mountains National Park offers several hiking trails;
this is also a perfect spot to unplug amidst beautiful lakes and serene
landscapes.

by Gabe Saglie, Senior Editor, Travelzoostory published in the Santa Barbara News-Press on 3/12/15

Brent Melville is well aware that his name brings a fair
share of pedigree to his winemaking. His
father, Ron, established Melville Vineyards in 1996, one of the most celebrated
properties in the Sta. Rita Hills. And
his brother Chad’s own label, Samsara, generates big industry buzz.

In fact, “everything I learned about growing grapes and
making and selling wine, I learned at Melville,” Brent says, referring to the
two decades he, himself, spent managing his family’s namesake vineyard.

But Brent Melville is on his own now.He’s emerging, actually, from a defining year
– 2013 – which saw big changes to his life, personally and professionally.And his new wine label, Lucky Dogg, helps
mark what is, in many ways, a fresh start.

The Lucky Dogg tasting room

The name was inspired by one fortuitous day on the golf
course.After a series of great shots,
“My buddy turned to me and said, ‘Boy, you’re a lucky dog,” Melville
recalls.Lucky is also the name of his vineyard dog, a three-month Siberian Husky-pit bull mix.

The Lucky Dogg tasting room opened its doors on July 4th
of last year.It enjoys a prominent spot
in the heart of tourist-friendly Solvang -- right on the corner of Mission and
Atterdag -- so foot traffic has been critical to its growth.And the vibe is decidedly laid back and
hip.Tasters can bring their dogs, in
fact.It’s also kid-friendly.And some of Brent’s favorite music, from
classic rock to reggae, plays throughout the day.

“I love talking and teaching ‘Wine 101,” Brent tells me as I
step up to the bar to taste, pointing to a marketing approach that’s hands-on
and user-friendly.

Lucky Dogg’s inaugural release includes five wines, all
sourced from Verna’s Vineyard, a 100-acre plot in Los Alamos’ Cat Canyon.Interestingly, the property, half of which is
planted to wine grapes, was actually owned by the Melville family for many
years.An L.A-based investor bought it
in 2013 for just under $3 million and brought Brent Melville on board to run
it.

The 2013 Viognier ($25) is named for Brent’s 13-year-old
daughter, Ryann, and has a tropical slant, with apricot flavors and a clean
finish. The 2013 Rosé of Pinot Noir
($22) pays homage to Brent’s 11-year-old daughter, Pressley, and is a
refreshing mix of citrus and watermelon flavors, and a top tasting room
seller. Brady, Brent’s 8-year-old son,
gets label recognition on the 2013 Syrah ($35), with a layered, almost meaty
mouth feel, a dash of white pepper and an acid-driven finish.

The 2013 Pinot Noir ($38), aged in neutral oak, is soft in
the mouth with cranberry and pomegranate notes, while the 2013 Reserve Syrah
($42) is textured and lush, with a spice-touched finish.

Production for all wines is right around 100 cases a
year.“I want to keep this small enough
so I can control everything,” says this grower-winemaker-business owner.The portfolio, though, will increase this
year, and two brand new wines have already hit the tasting room, including the
lip-smacking Honey Badger late harvest viognier.The Risqué is a lovely, clean stainless steel
chardonnay that even comes with tongue-and-cheek opening instructions on the
back label; the fifth step reads, “Rinse and repeat.”

A new richer, buttery chardonnay is in the works for later
this year, too, and there’s a social media contest afoot to name it. A tried and true marketing method, actually:
Lucky Dogg adopted its horseshoe-inspired logo after an online contest. The label has a presence on Facebook and
Twitter.

Brent Melville makes his wines at his own custom crush
facility, a growing co-op space in Buellton called Le Crush; he makes house
wines for a handful of Southern California restaurants there, as well, and
labels like Artiste and Barbieri are produced here, too.

About Me

Welcome to the online home of Gabe Saglie. Gabe is Senior Editor for Travelzoo and a respected travel contributor for dozens of TV news programs and national shows. Gabe is also a longtime wine and food writer based in Santa Barbara, California, where he lives with his wife, two boys and daughter.